Heel-cushion.



J`.l RAZNTCH.

HEEL CUSHION.

APPLIOATxoN FILED JULY 1o, 1913.

Patented Deo. 9, 1913.

1J ohh Ru'zmtch CGLLIMBIA PLANOGRAPH CU..WASM|NOTON. D. c.

J BAZNTGI'I! OF GILJQQUET, MINNESOTA.

HEELfCUSl-ION Specification of Letters Patent.

. PatentedDec. 9,1913.

Appliatioa filed July 10, 1913. Serial No.. 778,408.

To all whom t may concern Be it known that I, JOHN RAZNTGH, a citizen of the United States, residing at Cloquet, in the county of Carlton and State of Minnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Heel-Cushions; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to boots and shoes, and more especially to the heels thereof; and the object of the same is to produce an im-k proved cushion designed to go inside the shoe above the heel so that the Weight of the wearer may be spring-.supported in-y ternally rather than by a springor cushionheel on the outside of the shoe.

rlhis and other objects are accomplished by constructing the invention in the manner hereinafter more fully described and claimed, and as shown in the drawings wherein.-

Figure l is a longitudinal vertical section through a shoe with this improved heel cushion in place. Fig. 2 is a horizontal section on the line 21-2 of Fig. l. Fig. 3 is an enlarged central vertical longitudinal section through the heel cushion removed from the shoe, and Fig. 4@ is a perspective view thereof, while Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the same taken from the under side. Fig. 6 is a plan view of the wire from which the frame of the heel cushion is made, Fig. 7 a plan view of the metal sheet from which the clip is made, and Fig. 8 a perspective detail on an enlarged scale, showing said plate bent into the form of the finished clip.

In the drawings the letter S designates a shoe having an insole I which in the present case extends back over the heel H, but it is to be understood that this piece of footwear might be a slipper or a boot, and the term shoe herein employed should be understood as of sufficient breadth to cover any piece of footwear capable of containing this cushion heel.

Coming now more particularly to the details of the present invention, the frame of the heel cushion is composed of a single piece of wire as best seen in Fig. 6, bent at the center of its length into an oval loop 1, at the inner ends of which the sides converge and are connected as by a clip 2, beyond which said Sides again diverge and then converge so as to form a ring 3, and the ends 4; of said piece of wire may be connected or not as preferred. The frame as thus formed is. then bent on the transverse line indicated at 5 so that in side elevation the frame will be V-shaped with the ring 8 underlying the loop l and slightly smaller than the same so that the sides of these two parts of the frame would never come in contact if the two leaves of the il were pressed together-e however, I propose to make the frame of wire of such stiness that under the weight of the ordinary wearer such leaves would not be pressed completely together as will be seen below. It will be noted that the sides of the loop are substantially parallel throughout the major portion of its length, and between these sides is placed a pad 6 as of hair, excelsior, cotton, or the like. Finally, the frame and the pad are inclosed in what might be called a casing 7 made up of a number of strands of cord wound around the frame across its length and inclosing the pad within its windings or convolutions as seen. The cords may be covered with a facing 6 cemented or stitched thereon, to prevent wear of the users stocking. The pad and its casing thus become in effect a yielding suspended member or sling supported from the side bars of the loop l, and this element will give or yield to conform with the convexity of the ball of the heel when the latter bears down upon it. It will now be apparent why I make the frame of such stiff wire that ordinarily its leaves will not be compressed under the weight of the usual wearer, for if the loop descended far enough the ball of the heel would strike the ring 3 which lies in the bottom of the shoe as shown.

While any suitable form of clip 2 may be employed for connecting the sides of the wire frame, I prefer to stamp it from a blank of about the shape shown in Fig. 7, which is to be subsequently bent on the dotted lines. Such bending brings the arrowheads 2a over into contact with each other at their outer ends, and causes them to lie on the side aps 2b, producing openings 20 which embrace the wires as best seen in Fig. 5. This clip I would make of sheet metal of the necessary gage and of a size proportionate to that of the frame.

While any suitable means may be employed for fastening this heel cushion in place, I preferably Gut from the insole I two small tongues 9 and bend them upward and pass them through the openings 10` at the front end of the loop where the latter is not covered by the sling. These tongues prevent the cushion from accidental dislodgment from thev shoe, and obviously while in place it cannot slip to either side or to the front or rear; yet it is possible to remove the entire cushion when desired, as when it is to be cleaned or repaired. If the yielding sling of this device is made as above described, it may be tightened when it becomes stretched as by continued wear. This would be done by removing the facing and string (possibly replacing the pad while the string was unwound), and replacing it with the same piece of cord or a new piece drawn more tightly than before. It will not be necessary to illustrate the manner in which the ends of this cord are tied, but they are knotted to each other or to the wire of which the loop is composed and at some convenient point where the knot or knots will notbe embedded into the heel.

The uses of devices of this kind are too well known to need repetition in this specification.

What is claimed as new is:

l. In a heel cushion, the combination with a shoe having an insole, and tongues cut from the latter and upbent; of the cushion proper comprising a frame .including a lower leaf lying in the heel of the shoe and an upper leaf spring-supported from the lower leaf, the cushion having openings passing over said tongues when the device is inserted in the shoe.

2. The herein described heel cushion for shoes and the like, comprising a wire frame bent into the form of an oblong loop, a ring, and a narrow neck connecting these elements and bent transversely so that the ring shall underlie the loop, a pad disposed within said loop, and a casing consisting of a cord wound around and across said loop and inclosing the pad, the whole for use substantially as described.

3. The herein described heel cushion consisting of a pad; a frame composed of a single piece of wire bent at its center into an elongated loop surrounding the pad, the sides of the loop converging at its inner end, and thence diverging and bent into a ring smaller than the width of said loop; a clip connecting the arms of the wire frame where they converge; and a flexible casing embracing said loop and pad and holding the latter in place. Y

4t. A cushion for the purpose described, comprising a wire frame bent substantially in the manner set forth; combined with a clip composed of a single piece of sheet metal stamped with oppositely extending flaps at its sides and oppositely extending arrow-heads at its` ends, the flaps being bent inward into contact with each other and the arrow heads bent inward over the flaps and into contact with each other to produce openings embracing the sides of said wire frame, and a sling mounted within said frame.

ln testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JOHN RAZNTCH. Witnesses:

SAIMA LINDROTH, F. T. PERSINGER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

